With Wdata, you can connect and consolidate data from multiple sources across the Workiva platform using:
- Tables, to curate data from multiple sources
- Queries, to explore and segment your data for use with connected spreadsheets and views
- Chains, to automate processes such as connected reporting and data management across multiple solutions
Note: To open Wdata from the Workiva platform, click Wdata in the left panel.
Tables
Think of tables as scalable, easy-to-navigate databases that resemble spreadsheets.
With tables, you can curate and compile datasets from multiple sources, such as:
- Uploaded files
- Sheets in Spreadsheets
- API integration
Depending on your intent, you can work with:
- Fact tables, for data that builds up over time, such as transactions or general ledger entries
- Dimension tables, for relational data, such as departmental rollups or fiscal year accounting
You can also share tables across workspaces and add supplemental columns or tags to track reference information or metadata about datasets such as version or source.
From Wdata Home , you can view and manage your tables on the Tables tab.
Queries
To slice-and-dice your data, you can create queries based on Wdata tables or Workiva spreadsheets.
Depending on your familiarity with Structured Query Language (SQL), you can create a query in a drag-and-drop builder or compose its syntax in an SQL editor to combine data from multiple sources.
When you create a query, you can:
- Include formulas to apply calculations or concatenations to multiple values within the source data.
- Apply filters to segment the data or focus on only specific information, such as by account or time period.
- Create relationships between data that appears across multiple sources.
- Change—or cast—its field's data types, such as to use numerical text data as a decimal or integer in the query.
- Lay out its results vertically and horizontally as a cross-tabulation, based on dimensions you choose.
After you create a query, you can:
- Connect its results to a Workiva spreadsheet, such as for connected reporting with links to documents and presentations.
- Visualize or analyze its results as a view—such as a chart or pivot table—and drill into its data.
From Wdata Home , you can view and manage your queries on the Queries tab.
Views
To help visualize and analyze query results, you can create views as tables or charts. When you create a table view, you can format it as a flat table for reference, or a pivot view to summarize the data.
To ease analysis within a view, you can:
- Apply formatting to specific columns or data that meet specific requirements or cross set thresholds.
- Include grand totals and subtotals to automatically sum amounts.
- Filter columns to include only data that meets specific characteristics.
From Wdata Home , you can view and manage your views on the View tab.
Chains
To connect data across the Workiva platform and your various data sources, you can build and automate workflows as chains.
For example, you can create chains to:
- Generate queries, spreadsheets, or pivot views based on updated data or query results.
- Automatically retrieve information from a data source to generate a report in another on a routine basis.
- Set up and enable approval workflows to ensure data integrity.
- Apply pipelines of transformations to prepare tabular data from or for your systems of record.
Note: To enable a chain to interact with your data sources, your IT admins create connections to Workiva and other solutions. Connections to on-premise or private cloud solutions also require GroundRunners to perform tasks within each data source.
From Wdata Chains, you can view and manage your connections, chains, and pipelines.